There are a myriad of products dispensed from spray bottles. An example of a product provided in a spray bottle dispenser is a preventive maintenance type cleaner applied onto surfaces proximal to a personal wash area, typically, a shower or bath, immediately or relatively soon after the wash area is used. This type of product is presently being marketed by a number of different companies. For example, one company is selling such a product under the trademark, CLEAN SHOWER. This product is marketed on the premise that by applying it to the surfaces of a wash area after each use, build up of wash area related dirt, such as soap scum, is minimized.
Another example of a product dispensed from a spray bottle is glass cleaner. In a typical window cleaning operation, a spray bottle dispenser containing window cleaner is operated proximally to a window to apply cleaner to the window pane. In a second step, a squeegee is used to scrape the cleaner along the pane, typically, to a bottom portion of the perimeter of the window. In a third step, the squeegee as well as the bottom portion of the window are wiped clean, typically, with a rag or sponge.
Most spray bottle dispensers are very similar. The typical spray bottle dispenser consists of a bottle portion and a spray head portion. The bottle portion has an externally threaded neck portion to which the spray head portion connects by an internally threaded collar. The spray head portion further includes a nozzle portion as well as a housing portion out of which extends a trigger portion for operating a pump inside the housing portion. A dip tube connected to an inlet of the pump extends from the housing portion through the collar portion and into the bottle portion. When the spray head portion is connected to the bottle portion, at least a portion of the dip tube is immersed in product contained in the bottle portion.
The bottle portion is typically grasped and operated with one hand such that at least one finger, typically, the index finger and perhaps the middle finger, extend to the trigger portion. In operation, the dispenser, and specifically, the nozzle portion of the spray head portion, is held proximally to a surface to which the product in the bottle portion is to be applied. The trigger is then pulled causing product to be pumped through the dip tube into the pump and to the nozzle, out of which the product is sprayed, typically, in a substantially conical spray configuration. Typically, the conical spray configuration produces a circular spray pattern on a surface to which the product is applied provided that the nozzle is held within a predetermined range from the surface during operation.
When the surface onto which the product is to be applied is larger than the largest available spray pattern produced by the dispenser, the entire dispenser must be moved and operated at different locations relative to the surface so as to apply product to the entire surface. While these locations may be chosen arbitrarily, the consumer, ever concerned with saving valuable time and effort, is likely to move the dispenser in an efficient manner such that product is applied from locations which define generally longitudinal and/or transverse paths about any given surface. This type of operation of a spray bottle dispenser is referred to as the natural operation of a spray bottle dispenser.
In naturally operating a spray bottle dispenser, a consumer may move the spray bottle dispenser to perhaps 10 to 100 discrete locations relative to, for example, the surfaces of a wash area such as a shower stall or a particularly large pane of glass, to adequately apply product thereto.
It is a first object of the present invention to take advantage of the natural operation of a spray bottle dispenser.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus which allows the dispensing of a product to be combined simultaneously with another function.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide surface contacting with a spray bottle dispenser.
It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus.
It is a fifth object of the present invention to provide an improved dispensing apparatus.
It is a sixth object of the present invention to provide a surface contacting portion for a dispensing apparatus.
It is a seventh object of the present invention to provide an improved surface contacting portion for a dispensing apparatus.
It is an eighth object of the present invention to increase the efficiency of coverage of a spray from a dispensing apparatus.
It is a ninth object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus which increases the efficiency of products dispensed from spray bottles.
It is a tenth object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which increases the effectiveness of products dispensed from spray bottle dispensers.
It is an eleventh object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which increases the ease with which products are dispensed from spray bottle dispensers.
It is a twelfth object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus including a spray bottle dispenser including a bottle portion and a spray head portion and a frame portion connecting the dispenser to a surface contacting portion and configured such that when the dispensing apparatus is in an upright position, the surface contacting portion is located above and in front of a nozzle portion of the spray head portion.
It is a thirteenth object of the present invention to provide an apparatus including a surface contacting portion connected to a frame portion, the frame portion connected to a dispenser having a bottle portion and a spray head portion such that when the dispenser is substantially upright and a product is dispensed to a substantially vertical surface from a nozzle exit of the spray head portion only translation of the dispenser in a direction consisting of a downward vertical component is necessary for simultaneously contacting the product and the surface with the surface contacting portion
It is a fourteenth object of the present invention to provide a method of applying a product to a vertical surface including the steps of holding a dispenser having a bottle portion and a spray head portion in a substantially upright orientation proximally to a vertical surface such that a surface contacting portion attached to the dispenser is in contact with the vertical surface and dispensing a product onto the vertical surface with the dispenser, and translating the dispenser in a direction consisting of a downward vertical component to apply at least a portion of the product to the surface.
The present invention is directed to surface contacting with a spray bottle dispenser. In a preferred embodiment the present invention includes a spray bottle dispenser including a bottle portion and a spray head portion and a frame portion connecting the dispenser to a surface contacting portion and configured such that when the dispensing apparatus is in an upright position, the surface contacting portion is located above and in front of a nozzle portion of the spray head portion.
When the dispensing apparatus of the present invention is used to apply a product to a surface, the surface contacting portion is preferably simultaneously in contact with the surface. Thus, the present invention is particularly appropriate for use in situations calling for the natural operation of a spray bottle dispenser. For example, the present invention is particularly appropriate for use with cleaners which are sprayed onto surfaces proximal to a personal wash area, for example, a shower or bath, immediately or relatively soon after the wash area is used.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the surface contacting portion is provided with a wiper portion. Accordingly, when a dispensing apparatus including a spray bottle dispenser and a surface contacting portion according to the present invention is used to apply the above discussed preventive maintenance type cleaning product to the surface of a wash area according to the natural operation of a spray bottle dispenser, the surface contacting portion, and particularly the wiper portion perform a number of functions.
First, the wiper portion serves to spread the dispensed droplets of product over the surface uniformly as it follows behind the nozzle portion in the natural operation of the dispenser, thereby providing an improved application of product. More specifically, the wiper portion displaces the droplets which make up the spray pattern and spreads each droplet over the surface to which the product has been applied. Use of the invention thereby promotes less usage of product since product is applied more efficiently. Second, the wiper portion also scrapes some of the dirt which the product is intended to clean. This provides enhanced cleaning of the surface and allows for even greater periods of time between episodes of thorough cleaning of the wash area. Third, the surface contacting portion provides a gauge for applying product to the surface. More specifically, during natural operation of a dispensing apparatus according to the present invention, the surface contacting portion serves to set the nozzle portion of the dispensing apparatus a predetermined distance away from the surface to which product is being applied, thereby further ensuring uniform application of product to the surface.
Another example of a benefit achieved by use of the present invention is realized when a dispensing apparatus according to the present invention is used to apply glass cleaner in a typical window cleaning operation. A dispensing apparatus according to the present invention configured to apply glass cleaner preferably includes a surface contacting portion defining a wiper portion. In a first step, window cleaner is applied to the window surface according to the natural operation of a spray bottle dispenser. In a conventional second step, the consumer would place a squeegee against the window surface and drag the same across the glass surface so as to scrape the cleaner typically to a bottom segment of the perimeter of the window. With the wiper portion of the present invention, window cleaner is scraped to a bottom segment of the perimeter of the window simultaneously with the application of product to the window. Thus, the first and second step are merged into a single step resulting in a significant savings of time and effort. The remaining step i.e. the cleaning of any residue from the bottom of the window and the wiping of the blade portion of the surface contacting portion is carried out in the usual way.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.